1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for making fried food products which are lower in fat than conventional fried food products. In particular, the method involves making a fried food product having reduced fat content by frying a dough including flour, sugar, a leavening agent, water and polydextrose.
2. Description of the Related Art
Numerous medical studies have shown a link between heart disease and a diet high in fat and calories. Also, high fat consumption has been shown to cause obesity and its associated problems. Various public interest health groups have recommended that fat consumption in the human diet be reduced so that no more than 30% of caloric energy is derived from fat. Unfortunately, the fat contained in food products provides much of the desirable eating qualities such as taste, mouthfeel, aroma and texture.
Public interest health groups have been particularly concerned that a significant proportion of the nutritional intake of an average adult is made up of fried foods, which can be quite high in fat as the food tends to absorb the frying fat medium during frying. Nonetheless, consumers continue to demand fried food products as they are generally perceived to be more flavorful. Therefore, the food industry has continually searched for methods of producing fried foods that are both comparable in taste and quality to regular fried foods, but also lower in fat and calories.
Recently, many methods have been proposed to generate fried foods having a lower fat content. Some methods seek to form a film or coating on the raw foodstuff or dough in order to provide a barrier to the uptake of the frying fat medium. Other methods reduce the fat content of fried foods by including a food additive in a dough or batter that reduces the fat content of the fried food product.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,810,660 discloses a process for producing potato patties having less oil content. In the disclosed process, potato shreds are combined with a dry binder that includes retrograded amylose. During frying, the amylose forms a continuous film around the periphery of the patty reducing oil absorption during frying.
Another example of a technique used to minimize the uptake of frying fats during deep frying is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,721. This patent discloses an improved deep frying method wherein foodstuffs are coated with an edible polymer, such as a protein, modified protein, carbohydrate or modified carbohydrate, in order to form a continuous coating that functions as a barrier that minimizes the uptake of the frying fats.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,217,736 discloses a similar process wherein foodstuffs are coated with a continuous protein oil barrier film cast from an aqueous latex suspension of water and soluble hydrophobic protein microspheres. This film is suitable as an oil barrier to reduce oil absorption into the food stuffs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,483 teaches that cellulose derivatives can be incorporated into gelled starch food products having a high water content, such as a batter which is cooked by immersion in hot fat, to get a product having a crisp outer surface and with a lower uptake of the cooking fat.
The invention disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,642 relates to a process of making reduced fat fried snacks with more expanded, lighter structures than that of conventional dough-based fried snacks. These reduced fat fried snacks are produced from a sheetable dough which contains calcium carbonate, starch-based flour, hydrolyzed starches, emulsifiers and water.
Studies aimed at reducing the fat content of specific fried food products, such as fried cake donuts, have also been reported. It is known that fat absorption accounts for 15% to 25% of the finished weight of a fried donut. This high fat content in the fried donut has been a concern to those consumers who demand fried food products that are low in fat and calories but also high in taste.
Because of the concerns of health groups and health conscious consumers regarding the high fat content in fried donuts, various methods for reducing the fat content of fried donuts have been investigated. It has been reported that certain reformulated cake donut batters inhibit the absorption of the frying fat medium during frying.
In one study, entitled "Reduced Fat Uptake and Increased Moisture Retention in Yeast-leavened Donuts with Methylcellulose and HPMC" reported by D. A. Bell and L. W. Steinke at the Poster Session, American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC) Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, Minn. 1995, experiments were conducted using donut batters containing 1% powdered hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC). The fat content of the finished fried donut formed from the batter having HPMC was reported to be significantly less than the finished fried donut formed from a control batter. Oil reductions of 27% were also achieved in fried donuts containing HPMC and methylcellulose.
In a second study, entitled "Effects of Protein from Different Sources on the Characteristics of Sponge Cakes, Rice Cakes, Doughnuts and Frying Batters" reported in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 68(3) 271-277 1995, soy flour was added to cake donut formulas to reduce fat absorption during frying. The donuts containing soy flour had reduced oil absorption compared to the control donuts.
In spite of the documented efforts to produce a fried food, such as a cake donut, having a lower fat content, there still exists a continuing need to provide additional methods for making reduced fat fried foods that have the flavor attributes and physical properties of conventional fried food products. Often reduced calorie products have an unappetizing dry taste that prevents widespread acceptance by consumers.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a method of making a fried food product having a reduced fat content and the taste and physical properties of a conventional fried food product.
It is an additional object of this invention to provide a method of making a fried food product having a reduced fat content and a moisture level comparable to that of a conventional fried food product.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dough or batter that includes additives which inhibit the absorption of the frying fat medium when the dough or batter is fried.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a dough or batter having fat absorption inhibitors that do not significantly affect the eating or quality characteristics of a finished fried product.
It is another object of this invention to provide a dough or batter that includes additives which inhibit the absorption of the frying fat medium and do not lead to a finished product having a reduced moisture level.
It has been discovered that polydextrose, when added to dough or batter mixes, can reduce the absorption of frying fats during frying. It has also been discovered that when polydextrose is added to a dough or batter to inhibit the absorption of a frying fat medium, the eating and quality characteristics of the finished fried product are not significantly affected. In addition, it has been discovered that different combinations of polydextrose, fiber, soy protein, cellulose derivatives and oat flour in a dough or batter mix can result in a synergistic effect, inhibiting the absorption of the frying fat medium during frying and maintaining the eating and quality characteristics of a finished fried food product.
Polydextrose is a randomly bonded condensation polymer of D-glucose with some bound sorbitol and a suitable acid such as citric acid. Polydextrose is odorless, very soluble in water, and has a slight, tart taste. It is known to have uses as a fat substitute, foodstuff bulking agent, browning agent, texturizer, humectant and thickener for use in, for example, reduced-calorie products. Such reduced-calorie products include fat-free cookies, low-fat frozen desserts, reduced-fat peanut butter and fat-free salad dressings. It is believed that polydextrose does not contribute to dental caries, causes minimal gastrointestinal disturbances, and has a caloric value of about 1 calorie per gram.
The United States Food and Drug administration has approved polydextrose as a multipurpose food ingredient for such products as frozen dairy desserts, baked goods and mixes, confections and frostings, salad dressings, gelatins, puddings, and pie fillings, hard candy and soft candy, and chewing gum. Polydextrose has also been approved by various other nations' regulatory bodies for use as a food ingredient.
LITESSE.RTM. improved polydextrose FCC is one commercially available form of polydextrose available from Cultor Food Science, which also produces other forms of polydextrose.